You're Nobody till Somebody Hates You

We've all heard Dean Martin's classic "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You." What if we switched that around and said, "You're Nobody till Somebody Hates You." Recently I've been called an “explative” creep, that hates women, the most terrifying looking human ever seen, pale with all black eyes that flames are about to come out of, the anti-christ, that I have no soul and that I'm an ignorant, arrogant, despised, hated and an misogynistic a-hole (there was more that can't be repeated). These remind me of my all time favorite: a smug, fumbling bigot. Several of those last arguments were fired at me last night after I made simple comment about calling your congressperson to defund Planned Parenthood. The left sure is good at the tolerance they preach!

Although it hurts to think otherwise intelligent people will resort to these types of accusations to prove a point, I have to remember what Jesus said in Jn.15:18-25 - "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'" Also, don't forget 2 Tim.3:12, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

I think it is safe to say if you're not being opposed, you're not making a difference. That makes me a little uncomfortable that more bad isn't being said of me. Jesus make us bold for you! Pr.28:1.

We still love you Alray!

No doubt most of you are very aware of all that has been happening on our campus the past few weeks. Student Body President Nelson Alray had apparently received threats and hate messages and in response the students of FLC responded with support (read the original story here). This was the right response; none of us should ever tolerate hate. During the whole ordeal I heard from 2 professors and other students that the rumor on campus was that the Christians were spreading these hateful messages. I also received multiple hateful messages during this time but have no idea if they were a response to these rumors (I talked a little about this back on Oct.31st). Regardless, hate is always wrong. That is why we marched together with the students of FLC to share the message that God is love and hates hate.

Most of you received the e-mail from the college or read in the paper today that the hate messages President Alray reported were false (you can see the story here). On the one hand I am glad these messages weren't authentic because I don't think anyone should ever receive those types of threats. On the other hand I am saddened that this whole issue was a lie and that the rumor that Christians were responsible for it started spreading around campus. Jesus told you to expect this in Mt.5:11-12, saying, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." As long as we keep our eyes on Him and continue following Him, obeying Him and loving Him and everyone around us (Mk.12:30-31) the truth will always win out. Ps.37:4-6 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD ; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."

I am definitely glad that people won't incorrectly think Christians are spreading hate. I am also so proud of all of you Christian students! Jesus tells us in Mt.5:39, "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." That is truly the attitude I saw in each of you. You were quick to forgive, quick to love and quick to point others to Jesus. You guys are AWESOME!!!

That all being said, I want to ask you to reach out to our former student body president with love today! Please e-mail, call or facebook Mr. Alray and tell him that we and Jesus still love him. If you are mad about being lied to I want to remind you to love and forgive. Please reach out to your gay and lesbian friends and reaffirm your and Jesus' love for them. If you haven't checked it out yet, please read this post on how to share your faith with gay and lesbian friends.

If you're reading this president Alray, I want you to know that Jesus and each of the students involved in Connect love you and forgive you and we are still here for you. I hope you'll have some time to debrief over break and hope and trust you'll be able to visit us again after break. Please check out a short message straight from Jesus' mouth by clicking here. We are praying for you, we love you and so does Jesus.

Finally, whoever you are and wherever you are remember you're not alone; remember, pray for and support the persecuted church worldwide and boldly stand for Jesus today and point to Him no matter what situation you find yourself in. He will always be your strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, salvation and stronghold! Ps.18:1-3

Persecution?

Fear is probably the biggest roadblock to evangelism. We fear rejection, slander, peoples' opinions of us, a bad reputation and failure. Most of us have never faced true persecution. The worst that has ever happened to me here in the US is having a snowball thrown at me once while sharing. Not a big deal. 2 Cor.4:17 says, "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Remember what Paul called light and momentary troubles (2 Cor.11-12) - hard work, imprisonment, torture, near death experiences, beatings, lashings, shipwrecks, stoning, constant danger, sleeplessness, hunger, nakedness, cold, weakness and sickness. I havent faced any of that for Christ. We have so little to risk here in the US and so much to gain if we will only step out for Him, sharing the Good News with this country that desperately needs Jesus! Nearly 180,000 Christians will die for their faith in Jesus this year (see stats here). What we face here truly is light and momentary - let's not let that stop us from what He has put us here for. This is our time to take risks for Jesus!



For more on what God is doing around the world check out the MP3 below!